How Different Diets Impact Your Health | Dr. Christopher Gardner

My guest is Dr. Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., professor of medicine and director of nutrition studies at Stanford. He is known for his pioneering research on the impact of dietary interventions on weight loss and health. We compare ketogenic, vegetarian, vegan and omnivorous diets—and why there is no one-size-fits-all approach. All agree, however, that eliminating or dramatically reducing processed foods is best for health. We discuss the protein needs controversy; plant vs. animal proteins; the importance of fiber and low-sugar fermented foods for gut health and inflammation; and how diet affects gene expression. We also review food allergies—including gluten, wheat, dairy and soy—as well as raw dairy. The episode offers data-supported advice for healthier eating. Read the episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/S64A31j Get emails on neuroscience, health, and science-related tools from Dr. Andrew Huberman: https://go.hubermanlab.com/newsletter *Thank you to our sponsors* AG1: ⁠https://drinkag1.com/huberman Eight Sleep: ⁠https://eightsleep.com/huberman Mateina: ⁠https://drinkmateina.com/huberman BetterHelp: ⁠https://betterhelp.com/huberman LMNT: ⁠https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Levels: ⁠https://levelshealth.com/huberman *Dr. Christopher Gardner* Stanford academic profile: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/christopher-gardner Stanford Nutrition Studies Research Group: https://med.stanford.edu/nutrition Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NIFfgHkAAAAJ Plant-Based Diet Initiative: https://web.stanford.edu/group/nutrition/cgi-bin/pbdi/wordpress/about TEDxBoston Talk: https://youtu.be/mhJDUqZ3ZKc?si=kazHHgPb-WpgUXAS X: https://x.com/gardnerphd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cgardnerphd Threads: https://www.threads.com/@cgardnerphd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-gardner-9a52298 BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/cgardnerphd.bsky.social *Timestamps* 00:00:00 Christopher Gardner 00:02:32 Is there a Best Diet?, Individual Needs, Geography & Diet, Lactose 00:11:02 Sponsors: Eight Sleep & Mateina 00:13:49 Raw Milk, Lactose Intolerance 00:20:33 Wheat Allergies, Gluten Intolerance; Celiac Disease 00:25:12 Processed Foods, Food Dyes, Research Outcomes, NOVA Classification, GRAS 00:33:44 Processed Foods, Economic & Time Considerations, US vs European Products 00:39:59 Food Industry Funding, Investigator Influence, Equipoise, Transparency 00:50:10 Sponsors: AG1 & BetterHelp 00:53:11 Industry Funding, National Institute of Health (NIH) 00:56:41 Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet; Diet Comparison, DIETFITS, A TO Z Study 01:10:24 Nutrition Naming, Omnivore, Meat, Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) 01:17:14 Transforming American Diet; Taste, Health & Environment 01:22:26 Sponsor: LMNT 01:23:43 Food Preparation, Chefs, Improve School Food 01:29:54 Scalability, Mega-Farms, Small Farm & Farmer Loss 01:34:25 Protein Requirements, Dietary Protein Recommendations, Standard Deviations 01:45:33 Protein & Storage 01:52:12 Plants & Complete Proteins?, Legumes, Bioavailability 02:01:58 Sponsor: Levels 02:03:17 Beyond Meat, Impossible Meat, Ingredients, Sourcing Meat, Salt 02:09:18 Vegan vs Omnivore Diet, Twin Study, Cardiometabolic Markers, Genes, Microbiome 02:20:24 Health Science Communication, DEXA; “Protein Flip” Diet; Food Patterns, Caloric Intake 02:31:29 Microbiome, Inflammation, Fiber, Tool: Low-Sugar, Fermented Food 02:45:32 Acknowledgements 02:47:55 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Andrew HubermanhostChristopher Gardnerguest

May 12, 20252h 50mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: May 12, 2025
Duration: 2h 50m
Channel: Huberman Lab
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

My guest is Dr. Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., professor of medicine and director of nutrition studies at Stanford. He is known for his pioneering research on the impact of dietary interventions on weight loss and health. We compare ketogenic, vegetarian, vegan and omnivorous diets—and why there is no one-size-fits-all approach. All agree, however, that eliminating or dramatically reducing processed foods is best for health. We discuss the protein needs controversy; plant vs. animal proteins; the importance of fiber and low-sugar fermented foods for gut health and inflammation; and how diet affects gene expression. We also review food allergies—including gluten, wheat, dairy and soy—as well as raw dairy. The episode offers data-supported advice for healthier eating. Read the episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/S64A31j Get emails on neuroscience, health, and science-related tools from Dr. Andrew Huberman: https://go.hubermanlab.com/newsletter *Thank you to our sponsors* AG1: ⁠https://drinkag1.com/huberman Eight Sleep: ⁠https://eightsleep.com/huberman Mateina: ⁠https://drinkmateina.com/huberman BetterHelp: ⁠https://betterhelp.com/huberman LMNT: ⁠https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Levels: ⁠https://levelshealth.com/huberman *Dr. Christopher Gardner* Stanford academic profile: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/christopher-gardner Stanford Nutrition Studies Research Group: https://med.stanford.edu/nutrition Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NIFfgHkAAAAJ Plant-Based Diet Initiative: https://web.stanford.edu/group/nutrition/cgi-bin/pbdi/wordpress/about TEDxBoston Talk: https://youtu.be/mhJDUqZ3ZKc?si=kazHHgPb-WpgUXAS X: https://x.com/gardnerphd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cgardnerphd Threads: https://www.threads.com/@cgardnerphd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-gardner-9a52298 BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/cgardnerphd.bsky.social *Timestamps* 00:00:00 Christopher Gardner 00:02:32 Is there a Best Diet?, Individual Needs, Geography & Diet, Lactose 00:11:02 Sponsors: Eight Sleep & Mateina 00:13:49 Raw Milk, Lactose Intolerance 00:20:33 Wheat Allergies, Gluten Intolerance; Celiac Disease 00:25:12 Processed Foods, Food Dyes, Research Outcomes, NOVA Classification, GRAS 00:33:44 Processed Foods, Economic & Time Considerations, US vs European Products 00:39:59 Food Industry Funding, Investigator Influence, Equipoise, Transparency 00:50:10 Sponsors: AG1 & BetterHelp 00:53:11 Industry Funding, National Institute of Health (NIH) 00:56:41 Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet; Diet Comparison, DIETFITS, A TO Z Study 01:10:24 Nutrition Naming, Omnivore, Meat, Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) 01:17:14 Transforming American Diet; Taste, Health & Environment 01:22:26 Sponsor: LMNT 01:23:43 Food Preparation, Chefs, Improve School Food 01:29:54 Scalability, Mega-Farms, Small Farm & Farmer Loss 01:34:25 Protein Requirements, Dietary Protein Recommendations, Standard Deviations 01:45:33 Protein & Storage 01:52:12 Plants & Complete Proteins?, Legumes, Bioavailability 02:01:58 Sponsor: Levels 02:03:17 Beyond Meat, Impossible Meat, Ingredients, Sourcing Meat, Salt 02:09:18 Vegan vs Omnivore Diet, Twin Study, Cardiometabolic Markers, Genes, Microbiome 02:20:24 Health Science Communication, DEXA; “Protein Flip” Diet; Food Patterns, Caloric Intake 02:31:29 Microbiome, Inflammation, Fiber, Tool: Low-Sugar, Fermented Food 02:45:32 Acknowledgements 02:47:55 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

SPEAKERS

Andrew Huberman
host
Christopher Gardner
guest

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Huberman Lab, featuring Andrew Huberman and Christopher Gardner, How Different Diets Impact Your Health | Dr. Christopher Gardner explores rethinking Diets: Protein, Plants, Processed Foods, and Taste-First Health Andrew Huberman and Stanford nutrition scientist Dr. Christopher Gardner unpack major diet controversies: protein needs, plant vs. animal protein, ultra-processed foods, and how food systems shape health. Gardner argues there is no single best diet; humans are highly adaptable, but the standard American, ultra-processed diet reliably fails. They review Gardner’s large trials on low-carb vs low-fat, keto vs Mediterranean, vegan vs omnivore (including the twin study), and fermented foods vs fiber for microbiome and inflammation.

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